Ultimate Hand-Me-Down
by KayCal
Summary: If Emma and Hugo ever noticed the flying sprites that lived with them their entire lives or the fact that their parents sometimes snuck out the window covered in magical spandex, they never mentioned it. But what happens when duty calls? Prequel to my other story, Only Time (Travel) Will Tell
1. Evil Returns

A/N: This is a prequel to my other story, _Only Time (Travel) Will Tell._ You don't have to read that first, but it might help fill in some of the information. This is an AU where the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous are passed down within family, so it will have elements of that as well as elements of the mythology from the show.

* * *

As they got older, being Ladybug and Chat Noir had become more of a fun escape from the monotony of adult life rather than an actual responsibility for Marinette and Adrien. The had been in possession of their respective Miraculous for the greater part of three decades, and still patrolled once a month even though Hawkmoth had been defeated almost sixteen years ago. If you asked either of them, it was a freeing experience. As long as there was no immediate magic-based danger to the city or in another part of the globe, Tikki and Plagg said they could keep hold of their Miraculous for as long as they wanted.

Patrolling had been canceled only a handful of times over the past 25 years, and while it had been significantly cut back once Hawkmoth was no longer a threat, the two didn't like to cancel unless it was absolutely necessary. The only times patrol had ever been cancelled was during the first few months after the twins had been born, and even then Adrien would sometimes go alone.

But Emma and Hugo were fifteen now, and if they ever noticed the flying sprites that lived with them their entire lives or the fact that their parents sometimes snuck out the window covered in magical spandex, they never mentioned it.

* * *

"Marinette?" Tikki called. The two were downstairs in the small shop Marinette used to design and create her costumes. The designer herself was currently rifling through some scrap ribbon in the corner, trying to find the perfect piece to use on a costume for a local performance of _A Christmas Carol._

"What is it, Tikki?" she responded without lifting her head from the box.

"I sense something, and I'm afraid it is not a good thing." Tikki sighed and muttered too low for Marinette to hear,"I didn't expect him to come back so soon."

At Tikki's concerned tone, Marinette abandoned her search to gaze at the small kwami. "What is it Tikki?"

"I don't want to say anything else just yet. I need to speak to Plagg first before I jump to any conclusions. What time is Adrien getting home again?"

Marinette didn't want to just drop the topic without any more explanation, but responded anyway. "He doesn't have anything after his last lecture ends at five."

"And what about the twins?" Tikki asked.

"Project at the library right after school and then violin lessons until six o'clock. If you want to talk to Plagg before they get home, I can call Adrien and see if he can come straight home after class?"

"If you don't mind," Tikki smiled. Casting one last wary glance at the kwami, Marinette pulled out her phone and dialed Adrien. His number was at the top of her most recent calls.

He picked up almost immediately. "Hey Bugaboo, what's up?"

Marinette rolled her eyes despite the fact he couldn't see her, "Honestly Adrien, you're forty years old, when are you going to let the silly nicknames go?"

She heard Adrien laugh from the other end. "C'mon My Lady, you know you love them."

"Okay, fine. Yes, I do. Anyways, can you come straight home after your four o'clock class? Tikki needs to speak to Plagg, and it sounded pretty important."

"I'll do you one better," Adrien replied and the line suddenly went dead. Marinette pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it.

"What did he say?" Tikki asked and flew up to be at her eye level.

"I think the stupid cat hung up on me," Marinette grumbled. As she was about to redial the number and give him a piece of her mind, the front bell of the shop dinged.

"I'll be right with you!" she called from the back.

"Yes, hi. I need a costume for a one-man performance of _Cats_ that I'm doing," a familiar voice greeted.

Marinette whipped around and glanced around the doorframe that separated her workroom from the main shop. "Adrien?"

"The one and only," he smiled. He walked into the workroom and greeted her with a brief kiss.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "I thought you had class until five?"

"Well Plagg said something urgent had come up, and after making sure he didn't just mean he was hungry, I decided to let my teaching assistant cover for me. I was just administering an exam anyways, and I don't really need to be there for that."

Marinette smiled. Although Plagg seemed to only care about camembert, she knew he could be serious when he needed to be and that he truly cared for Adrien.

"Speaking of Plagg, where is he?" Marinette asked, going back to her project she had been working on before Adrien arrived.

He shrugged and jumped up to sit on her work table. "Whatever they needed to talk about must be pretty important. I think he already went off with Tikki."

"What do you think it could be?" Marinette held out her hand and Adrien passed her pins without her even needing to ask. "Plagg has never gotten home and gone upstairs without asking me for cheese bread."

"He wouldn't say," Adrien sighed. "I tried asking him on the way home, but he told me he didn't want to say anything until he talked to Tikki."

"Tikki basically said the same thing. The only information I could out of her was that she sensed something and that it probably wasn't a good thing."

"Have you talked to Fu lately? Is he okay?" Adrien had grown to like the peaceful old man over the years. After he and Marinette had returned the Peacock Miraculous to him, he often came over for tea or even dinner. The twins even referred to him as "Uncle Fu," and would ask him during every chance they got to tell them about some of his past adventures in Tibet. Adrien would have been devastated if anything happened to him.

"He came over yesterday," Marinette replied. She pinned some deep purple fabric to her dress form. "He seemed to be in perfect health to me, and he certainly didn't mention being under the weather, but then again you have to remember that the man is two hundred and eleven years old, _minou._ I don't care what he says, that's not exactly youth."

At her words, Adrien removed his glasses (his sight had faded over the years) and ran his hands through his hair and down his face. While Adrien hadn't modeled in decades, Marinette still thought he was constantly posing like life was a photoshoot. He certainly still had the looks for it, even if he was a bit greyer now.

"All we can do is wait to see what they say, I guess. Maybe it was a false alarm."

"Always a chance," Marinette replied. "Can you hand me those scissors? Oh, and what do you think of this?" She turned the dress form towards him as he passed her the scissors. On it was a jacket and trousers for the Ghost of Christmas Present, while it wasn't complete, Adrien could get a pretty good idea of what direction she was heading in.

"Of course, like everything you make, it looks perfect."

Marinette moved to lean on his shoulder while she examined the work herself. "You don't think the purple isn't Christmas-y enough?"

"Well you don't really want it to _scream_ Christmas, and everyone always uses green for that costume. The purple is nice and refreshing. Exquisite work, My Lady."

"Will you ever stop being a dork?" She laughed. "But, thank you. I needed to hear that."

"Ah, but I'm your dork," he wrapped his arms around her to hug her from the side. "If I ever stop being one, call the ambulance because I'm probably having a stroke."

Their chuckling was broken off by the return of Tikki and Plagg.

"Marinette? Adrien?" Tikki grabbed their attention. They turned to look at where the kwamis had re-entered the room.

"What is it?"

"I'm afraid we've got some bad news, kid," Plagg sighed. "Hawkmoth is back."


	2. Hereditary

**A/N: I'm taking full advantage of my free time to write. WARNING: this chapter contains descriptions of an anxiety attack.**

Adrien felt an intense wave of fear take over him. Just those three simple words, and his heart-rate shot through the roof. Breathing suddenly became a lot more difficult, and it was only through his muscles locking up that he didn't fall right off the table.

It was as if all the blood in his veins had been replaced by ice water.

He tried to rationalize, but it was hard to argue with such a blunt factual statement. _There is no way Hawkmoth can be back_ , he thought. _Gabriel Agreste is in a high-security psychiatric center. He has gone through years in prison and intensive counseling for grief and treatment for antisocial personality disorder. He couldn't just be back._

Adrien couldn't hear or feel anything that was going on him at that moment. He thought Plagg might have been trying to tell him something, but the only sensations he was aware of was the nausea building in his stomach. The more he thought about the situation, the worse the symptoms seemed to get.

After what felt like eons, Marinette's hand on his shoulder helped to tether him back to where he was. He was still shaking, but the world was slowly starting to come back into focus.

"It's alright, _chaton_. I'm still here, you're still here, and we're safe. He can't get us." Her voice was soothing as she moved to rub circles on his back, "Now, tell me something you can hear right now."

Adrien tried to take a deep shaky breath and responded, "I can hear your voice."

"Good," Marinette said, knowing that there was no other sounds in the room, she moved on. "Now, what do you see?"

"T-Tikki and Plagg are over there. Today you are wearing a striped t-shirt and jeans, and your hair is in a bun. Your costume is here on the left, and there's a box of…ribbons? Over there, in the corner."

With each thing he described, his heart rate started to slow and the knot in his stomach slowly started to unclench. The tingling sensation that had been coursing through his veins faded, and he knew that the worst of it was ending.

"Do you need me to keep going?" Marinette asked. When he looked at her, he registered the concerned look she was giving him. Like every look she gave him, it was full of nothing but love, and not pity like he had received from people in the past. Adrien took her hand in his and just shook his head, and she continued her rhythmic soothing on the back of his hand with her thumb.

Adrien rarely had anxiety attacks, but luckily Marinette had remembered some of the tips he had been told to use when they had been more frequent. He had always had a bit of anxiety when it came to things involving his father, but it had really spiraled after discovering he had been Hawkmoth the entire time.

Sometimes in his nightmares he would relive the final battle all over again.

"I'm okay," he reassured them. When Marinette glanced at him, he replied, "Really. I-It just caught me off guard."

"I'm sorry, kid." Adrien looked to see Plagg's ears droop, "I probably should have said that gently."

"No, no, no. It's okay, Plagg. _I'm_ sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Marinette smiled. "Now, do you want to stay here for the rest or do you want to go upstairs and we'll talk about this later?"

Adrien shook his head. Although he now felt exhausted, he knew it would be easier to be there for the conversation rather than try to hear it second-hand later. "We can talk about it now." He turned back towards Plagg, "how did he get out of the facility?"

Plagg and Tikki shared a look, and even Plagg knew that now was not the time to be playing around.

"He didn't," Plagg started. "This is a new energy, which means it is a new villain."

Even though the situation was still a dire one, Adrien breathed a sigh of relief.

"But Tikki and I destroyed the Miraculous?" Marinette protested. "I remember that _very_ clearly. How on earth does he have powers?"

Tikki sighed, "Unfortunately, nothing is permanent. The kwami, Nooroo, got away, which means that he could still be captured and corrupted again."

All Marinette could think was, _that poor kwami._

"So, what do we do?" Adrien asked. "Is everything going to go back to how it was twenty years ago; with daily akuma attacks tearing apart Paris?"

Tikki sighed, and her antennae fell slightly. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid that's not too far from the truth. This is a cycle that repeats throughout history—always slightly different—but along the same lines."

Adrien and Marinette were once again reminded of how old their companions were by the far-away look that overtook their eyes.

"So the akumas are back, whatever," Marinette waved her arms in the air. "Maybe I needed a little more excitement recently."

"Mari," Adrien put his hand on her arm. "You know we can't do this all over again. What if it takes ten years again? Or twenty? I hate to say it Bugaboo, but we can't fight akumas into our sixties. It's not realistic."

Marinette stepped back, and a look of betrayal briefly crossed over her face. Sure, she may not have wanted to be Ladybug at first, but now, over twenty years later, giving it all up would be like ripping off one of her limbs. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair!

"You're right," she heard herself mumble. Trying to blink away the tears that were starting to form in her eyes. "Does this mean you guys have to leave? For good?"

Tikki flew up and nuzzled herself into Marinette's cheek. "Not necessarily," she soothed. "Why don't we go talk about this in the house? It requires a bit of explaining."

Marinette nodded, and Adrien hopped off the table to go switch the front door sign to "closed." The four of them then went up the staircase into the apartment.

"Why don't you sit down, Adrien? I'll go get some snacks and tea and then we'll talk this all out."

It only took a moment, but once she returned with the two mugs and a plate of cookies and camembert balanced on top, the discussion got started.

"So, to begin: you are aware that Fu is the Guardian of the Miraculous, correct?" Tikki chirped. Adrien and Marinette nodded. Of course they knew that, they had personally returned the Peacock to him and watched as he placed it in the box with the others.

Plagg continued, "Well, he is also responsible for assigning them to new charges—"

"So you guys have to go to him now?" Adrien interrupted.

"Let me finish," Plagg grumbled. "As I was saying, he is responsible for assigning new charges. Except, Tikki and I don't really work like that. We're a packaged deal, for one, and because of that there are a few more qualifications that our charges have to have."

"It's also because we are the most powerful," Tikki explained further. "It is a huge responsibility to wield either Miraculous, so they can't be handed down to just anyone."

Marinette set her tea off to the side. "Is this just a way to boost our confidence? Where is this going?"

Plagg rolled his eyes, "We're trying to be dramatic here!"

"Do you remember how you found the earrings, Marinette?" Tikki prompted.

"They were in a box of my grandmother's things, I think?"

"And Adrien, how about your ring?"

"My mother left it for me, but she also was the owner of the Peacock Miraculous. How could she have used both?"

"Your mother was a special case," Plagg explained. "I never told you this, because I never thought it was relevant, but your mother only came into possession of the ring after the previous Chat Noir . . . passed."

Adrien sat back and sipped his tea while he tried to process the information.

"The Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous are special because they remain with in families—usually immediate family or closely related like a niece or a cousin," Tikki stated. "I know you two have thought that this might be the case, and you are right."

Plagg continued, "The only times the Miraculous is given to someone outside these close familial lines is when there is essentially no heir to the line."

"It has only happened a few times," Tikki informed. "In the past, it was slightly more common, as life expectancies were low and unfortunately our charges would pass before their time. It's not always tragic; other times have been when the only children of only children don't carry on the family but still live long, happy lives."

"My aunt never had any children," Marinette remembered. Her mother once told her that her sister had dedicated her life to looking after their mother and caring for children that had been displaced from their families. She never married, and had never wanted to. "Is that why the earrings are now mine?"

"Partly," Tikki explained. "Following within the family line is an important part of the process, but not the only qualification."

"You still have to be good people," Plagg explained. "That is often much harder to find, especially within candidates for Chat Noir. The power of destruction is easily corrupted, and it takes a certain kind of person to handle it."

"So what about the last Chat?" Adrien asked, "Why did they give the ring to my mother?"

Plagg looked like he had bad memories infiltrating his thoughts. "The past Chat Noir was your uncle, your mother's brother, Jean. Great kid, always brought plenty of cheese."

He floated down to rest on the table. Marinette sensed his mood dampening, so she passed one of the pieces of cheese to him. He didn't eat it right away, but rather clutched it to his chest while he spoke.

"He moved to Tibet to help the Ladybug at the time—not with fighting magic or anything, but rather just to try to keep the Miraculous together and help with her humanitarian efforts." He flashed them a weak smile at the memory, before he sighed and continued, "There was an accident. A flood; the consequences of being the embodiment of bad luck. Jean went out to try and rescue some people that were at risk in the local village . . . but he didn't make it out."

The four sat in silence for a moment, honoring the fallen Chat Noir.

"Jean and Adele were the end of the line at the time. They had no cousins, no other siblings, and Adele couldn't take up the role because she had already been given the Peacock Miraculous to deal with something here in Paris."

Plagg actually smiled a little as he continued, "Normally that would mean a new Chat would have to be chosen from a new line, but you were three years old at the time, and your mother managed to talk me in to waiting to see how you turned out before anything permanent was done. . ."

Marinette could have sworn she heard Plagg mutter, "and I'm glad I did," at the end. Adrien, on the other hand, scooped Plagg up and brought him up to his face.

"Aww, Plagg!" he cooed. "You do care about me!"

"Well, I figured I'd get the best camembert if I stayed in a wealthy family," he joked, but rubbed his face against Adrien's cheek like a kitten.

While the other two shared a moment, Tikki turned to Marinette. "The reason we are telling you all this now is because it's time again to pass the responsibility on."

Plagg rejoined the conversation, "the thing is, you're both only children, so that really only leaves us with two options."

"You don't mean-?" Adrien started.

"We do," Tikki confirmed. "Hugo and Emma will be the next Ladybug and Chat Noir."

 **A/N: These first few chapters are going to mainly revolve around dialogue, just so you know. I promise the twins will show up sometime soon! Also, the method for ending an anxiety attack that I described is extremely useful for distracting yourself from the source of the anxiety, at least in my personal experience.**


	3. Choose One

**A/N: This is more of a fairly short filler chapter, and I promise it is the last one before the twins show up.**

* * *

Marinette wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about the news that her children would be putting themselves at risk every day. But she was also aware that she wouldn't be able to argue much on that point, however, considering she did the exact same thing that she would be protesting against.

Adrien, on the other hand, looked excited at the prospect. Despite all the unpleasant and sometimes terrible things they may have endured as Ladybug and Chat Noir, overall it was a wonderful experience and they both grew from it. Perhaps he was thinking about that, or about of all the tips he would get to share with them, or maybe he was just happy that Plagg would be staying in the house with them. He did always have a soft spot for the little cat, even if they bickered constantly.

"So," Marinette started. "How does this work."

"It's actually quite a unique situation," Tikki explained. "Believe it or not, this is the first time that the Ladybug and Chat Noir lines have been within the same immediate family."

"Sure, Ladybug and Chat have gotten together before." Plagg rolled his eyes, "but none of them have ever been as disgustingly obsessed with each other as you two."

"Many of them either already had partners, or simply maintained a close friendship without the need or wish for any kind of romantic relationship. This is a new experience for all of us!"

"Does that affect the decision in any way?" Adrien asked.

"Well, since Hugo and Emma share the lines of _both_ Ladybug _and_ Chat Noir, the decision is not as concrete as to which will be which," Plagg explained.

"Ultimately the decision is up to fate." Tikki shared a look with Plagg, "but that doesn't mean we don't have to carefully consider the situation."

"We wanted to ask for your inputs," Plagg revealed. "They are your children, after all. While we may know them well enough by observation, you know them best."

Marinette and Adrien felt honored that both of their kids were considered good enough people to carry on either role, and even more honored that the kwamis wanted their input.

"Emma should be Chat Noir," Adrien stated immediately.

"That was very quick," Marinette rolled her eyes, a thought crossing her mind. "You've put thought into this before, haven't you?"

"Maybe…" Adrien mumbled.

"And what makes you say that Emma should be Chat, Adrien?" Tikki asked.

"She has the right attitude," Adrien explained. "I can definitely see her using all of my purr-fect puns."

"The decision is not based on which one of them is more likely to make _puns_ , Adrien." Marinette glared at him before she continued, "I do think out of the two of them she is the most like you, though."

"Are you guys considering all of their qualities?" Plagg asked. "It's not just which one matches you best; they are their own people after all."

"Plagg's right," Tikki agreed. "Consider how the powers will benefit them, and how their personality traits will play into the roles."

For the first time, Marinette put real thought into comparing her children to each other. It was something every mother tried to avoid doing, out of fairness to the individuality of her children, but in this case it was objective and necessary. In her mind, she was considering each of their personality traits, the pros and cons of hoe that would play out in the suits, and then trying to sort them into categories that were essential to being either Ladybug or Chat Noir.

Hugo was more academically oriented than Emma, never missing an assignment and maintaining a relatively high average, but he also lacked behind her in terms of social skills. It wasn't anything major, he was just more reserved and tended to put more thought into his actions before he did anything. Despite that, he was much better at reading people's emotions than she was, but Marinette wasn't sure if that translated better to Ladybug or Chat Noir.

On the other hand, Emma was much more active, not necessarily in terms of athleticism, but rather in terms of being outside with friends and not being able to sit still. That was a decent quality for a superhero, as her activeness would help counteract the sleepless nights of 2 AM akuma attacks, but still didn't help narrow the decision. Emma was resourceful and a good problem-solver, too; something that Ladybug need to figure out how to use the random items provided by the Lucky Charm. She was also rather impulsive, much like her father was back when he was a teenager, and that ultimately made up Marinette's mind on the matter.

"Emma can't be Chat Noir," she stated. There was a sense of urgency to her voice that made Adrien realize she wasn't about to change her mind.

"Why not?"

"I had enough stress worrying that you would do something stupid and self-sacrificial back when we were battling akumas; I can't go through that with her, too."

Adrien nodded in understanding, "Maybe that is for the best. Emma may be the one that is most like me, but maybe if she were Ladybug she would learn to think before she acts and become a little more responsible."

"And Hugo could definitely benefit from having to deal with Plagg all the time," Marinette joked. "He also tends to be more accurate with his motor skills, which will be good when handling Cataclysm. He's the least likely to miss the target."

"Although, I would have to give him more tips on how to fight. Emma is the one with the fencing experience, so she'd pick up using the baton easier. Hugo is better with projectiles."

"Honey," Marinette said. She put her hand on his arm and gave him the sweetest look she could muster, "I never told you this, but you never used that staff properly. At all. I think I'd rather send him to my mom; she may be old, but at least she actually had previous training in the weapon."

"Sabine knows how to fight?" Adrien asked. When Marinette just nodded, he said "Why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"Well, by time she knew about our superhero selves—well, I mean by time we told them; since they apparently already knew—you knowing how to fight properly wasn't really relevant anymore."

Adrien sighed; as usual, Marinette was right. "So, we're going with Emma as Ladybug and Hugo as Chat Noir?"

"Yes," Marinette nodded. "It takes into account their strengths and weaknesses while still giving them the most opportunities to grow as a person. I think they'll do great."

"We agree that Emma should be Ladybug and Hugo should be Chat Noir," Tikki smiled.

"Let me guess," Marinette faked pensiveness. "You two already knew which one was going to be which, but wanted to check and make sure we agreed and understood why before you said anything?"

Tikki blushed and nodded, "We didn't want to upset you guys if you didn't agree."

Marinette picked up Tikki and rubbed her against her face. "Oh Tikki, I could never be mad at you. I'm going to really miss your company during the day, though. It's going to be so quiet around here while I'm working."

Adrien grinned mischievously at Plagg, "I dunno, I don't think I'm going to miss having my desk drawers smell like cheese. I won't have to spray air freshener before office hours anymore."

"I'm gonna miss hanging out with your dumb self everyday too, kid," Plagg chuckled.

"The good news is we won't be far!" Tikki cheered. "And now we will actually get to sit at the dinner table instead of hiding around the house."

"Right," Plagg nodded. "Now for the fun part: what's the most fun way to tell the kids…"


	4. Surprise Me

**A/N: Two chapters in two days (Can you tell I've been procrastinating my schoolwork?)! This chapter is almost twice as long as the last one, because I don't believe in chapter length consistency. From now on the story will follow and focus mainly on Emma and Hugo, with Marinette and Adrien playing more supportive roles.**

* * *

Emma and Hugo burst into the house right at seven o'clock.

"Hey, Mom?" Emma yelled in greeting, "Next time you go to the store, can you buy me some more hair dye?"

Emma had been born with golden hair much like her father's, but over the years, genetics had taken over and her hair turned to a much darker shade of brown. It wasn't that she didn't like her natural color; she just liked the dirty blonde color better. And after dyeing it for the past three years, by this point she couldn't imagine letting the roots grow out.

Marinette came out of the kitchen to greet them by the door, "Of course, sweetheart. How were your lessons today?"

Hugo was putting the violin cases away in the closet for the day. He replied, "Lessons were good, Mom, except for when Emma almost poked me in the eye with her bow." He shot a glare at his sister, who shrugged innocently. "Oh, don't forget that we have that recital in a few weeks."

"Your father and I are looking forward to it," Marinette smiled. "And how was the rest of your day? Anything good, bad, or exciting happen?"

Emma tossed her arm around her brother's shoulders, which was quite difficult because of his size. "Yeah, Hugo, anything happen today? I noticed you went missing right around lunch time, and oddly enough I couldn't seem to find Isabelle either…"

She laughed as he blushed beet red.

"Shut up, Em. You know she wasn't there today, and I was in the library studying for that English exam we had in fifth period. Unlike you, I actually want to do well."

Marinette just smiled at their antics. She knew Hugo had a huge crush on his old childhood friend, Isabelle. Unfortunately, he seemed to be as helpless when it came to her as Marinette had once been around Adrien.

"Still haven't had the nerve to ask her out yet?" Marinette teased lightly. "That's okay, sweetie. Did your father ever tell you how much of a stuttering mess I was around him?"

Hugo sighed. Of course he had heard the stories; _hundreds_ of times in fact. "Yes Mom, and I should look at how happy you guys are now and know that everything will work out in the end."

Marinette smiled and patted his cheek, "That's right, so don't let your sister's teasing get to you. Anyways, why don't you two go upstairs and get cleaned up, and we'll have dinner in about half an hour?"

The twins nodded and walked upstairs together before splitting off into their own bedrooms.

* * *

Hugo's room was much smaller than his mother's childhood room had been, and _miniscule_ in comparison to his father's. Hugo certainly made the most of the space, however. Once side of the room was lined with bookshelves, filled with not only books, but things he had collected over the years like framed photos and basketball trophies. On the other side of the room was a twin-sized bed with simple navy bedding, which he had recently noticed was getting kind of small. Against the far wall was his desk, which was a simple black table with a rolling chair.

Hugo tossed his backpack down on his bed before going to rustle through his drawers to find his pajamas. It was fairly easy to find the green and black plaid pants in his well-organized dresser, and he quickly tossed them onto the bed as he searched for the matching old t-shirt.

Just as he was about to change, he noticed something sitting on his desk amongst the mountains of papers.

It was that weird cat bobble-head his dad always moved around the house. Usually, it stayed in the living room, the kitchen, or in his father's office, so Hugo thought it was a bit strange that it ended up in his room.

More importantly, the bobble-head being there also meant his dad had seen his desk, where he had a sketchbook and some poetry sitting out. The sketchbook was innocent enough because it was open to the latest comic Hugo was working on, but he had also been writing some pretty sappy love poems that could also be spotted sticking out behind books. He could only imagine how much his father was going to tease him at dinner.

Groaning at the thought, Hugo went to pick up the bobble-head toy and put it in his pocket. However, he was surprised to find out that it was furry and . . . warm? Like it was _alive._ That just made it ten times creepier than he had found it before.

"BOO!" it suddenly yelled, snapping to life. Hugo let out a high pitch scream and dropped the toy, but when it remained _floating in the air_ and _laughing at him_ , he figured he must have fallen asleep at some point and was dreaming right now.

"Oh kid," the cat-doll laughed. "That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time, and I watched your dork of a father grow up."

That seemed to be the only explanation the cat was going to give and it wasn't enough to satisfy Hugo.

"This is a dream, right?" he asked. "You're Dad's weird little cat toy, so the fact that you're talking and floating means that I'm asleep, right?"

The cat kept laughing, "You're as awake as I am, kid. My name's Plagg, and I'm an all-powerful god here to give you magic powers!"

"Magic . . . powers?" Hugo seemed unconvinced.

"Ever heard of Chat Noir?"

Hugo nodded, "Of course, there's a statue of him in the park by the school. He saved Paris from villains about twenty years ago, right? With a partner? I think Mom and Dad were big fans."

Plagg smiled, "Yeah, you could say that."

"Are you telling me that you're Chat Noir?"

"Come on kid, I thought you were the smart one. I'm here because _you_ are going to the new Chat Noir, and _I'm_ going to give you powers."

"Why?"

Plagg thought, _why can't this kid be as excited at the other one was?_

"Look, kid. There's evil that needs to be fought, and you're the only one that can do it. The old Chat Noir is—well, old now. So it's up to you."

Hugo took a step back from the kwami and held his hands up. "I am definitely not the kind of person who needs to be a superhero. I'm really busy with classes, and I have . . . um, a ton of books I have to read? So sorry, Plagg, I can't do it." He pointed to the door behind him, "But you could go try and ask my sister. I'm sure she'd be up to it; she loves a challenge."

"I'm afraid your sister has her own destiny to deal with."

* * *

Emma's room was very similar to Hugo's, but unlike his black and navy decorations, her room was white and gold themed. She also was much messier than her brother, with clothes and school work scattered all around the room and piled up in the corners. She had lost count of how many times she had tripped over her fencing mask.

Emma was searching through the piles of clothes scattered around her room when she spotted her mother's spare pin cushion sitting up on her desk. She never understood why her mother owned the thing, as she obviously found it too cute to ever actually stick pins in it. It was also the weirdest pin cushion she'd ever seen, with large, unblinking eyes and an oversized head. Emma stared at it for a while, feeling like it was staring back, until suddenly, _it blinked._

"Woah!" Emma exclaimed, "Did you just blink?"

She thought it was kind of silly to be talking to the plush toy. That was until it started talking back, of course.

"Hi Emma, I'm Tikki!"

"How do you know my name?" she narrowed her eyes at Tikki. It obviously wasn't really a pin cushion, but she wasn't sure if it was alive or just one of those creepy old toys that talked.

"I've known you since you were born, Emma! But it's nice to get to formally meet you! I'm a kwami—sort of a magical entity—here to give you superpowers so you can fight evil!"

"Superpowers?"

Tikki smiled and floated up to Emma's eye level. "Yep! Have you ever heard of Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"Yes," Emma replied. "We've talked about them in school before. Mom and Dad really like them, and they have a statue in the park by Grandma and Grandpa's house."

"Well, I'm here to tell you that you're going to be the new Ladybug!"

"Really?" Emma was excited at the idea. Instead of running her way throughout Paris, she'd be able to swing around like Spider-Man AND get to help people! However, if there was a need for a new superhero, then that meant that there was also a new supervillain. "Wait, does this mean that Paris is going to be under attack again?"

Tikki sighed, "Unfortunately, yes. But don't worry! He has to learn how to use his powers just like you are going to have to learn how to use yours, so I promise you will be able to handle it."

"Okay . . ." Emma nodded, "So, is there like something special I have to do in order to become Ladybug?"

Tikki smirked, "Why don't we go downstairs for dinner first?"

"Okay?"

With Tikki safely hidden in the pocket of her hoodie, Emma walked downstairs to join her family at the dinner table. Hugo was already downstairs, looking more uncomfortable than usual, and maybe even nervous. Emma shot him a questioning glance as she sat down next to him.

Their father came to sit down at the table next, carrying the spaghetti that he had no doubt helped make. Like them, he had also changed into loungewear and had a black and green headband with cat ears on for some reason.

Emma looked over to see if Hugo knew what was going on, but rather than sharing her confusion, he had paled and was staring at the table.

"Hugo," she whispered. "Are you okay?"

His green eyes looked up to meet hers, and he gave an unsure smile and a half-hearted thumbs up. Emma just shrugged; her brother was so weird sometimes.

Marinette entered the room next, carrying a pan of bread. She had also changed before dinner, but unlike the other three she was wearing a red and black polka dotted sundress. Not only was it an odd choice to wear for a stay at home dinner, but it was also an odd choice for a chilly February night.

She sat the bread down on the table and then took her seat next to her husband. They were both smiling, but it was an expectant smile. No one was motioning towards the food.

"Okay," Emma sighed. "I give up. What is wrong with all of you? Hugo looks ready to shrink into his plate, Dad looks like a dork, and Mom, you are aware it's negative two degrees outside, right?"

Marinette just laughed, "Why, do our outfits remind you of something?"

Emma narrowed her eyes at her parents, taking in their stupid grins and even stupider outfits.

"This is about the talking pin cushion, isn't it?"

* * *

Hugo immediately knew that his father had a pretty good idea what his talking cat bobble-head had told him. He was terrified that his dad would yell at him for taking Plagg, or worse, that he would try to pressure him into accepting his offer to be Chat Noir.

No surprise, Emma seemed to pick up on his nervousness right away, and it only got worse when their dad sat down at the table wearing _cat ears_ of all things.

But when Emma started talking about a talking pin-cushion, Hugo had a pretty good idea about where this night was going.

"I take it you mean Tikki," Marinette smiled. "What gave it away?"

"Dad's wearing cat ears, Mom." Emma motioned towards Adrien, who still had a goofy smile on his face. "If this _isn't_ about that, then I'm afraid you're both going senile."

Marinette just laughed. "Good, you met Tikki then!"

Hugo's father turned to face him, "and what about you, Hugo?"

He knew there was no point trying to lie his way out of it, because even if he did, Plagg would fly out of his sweatpants and give him away.

"Yes, your bobble-head god scared the living daylights out of me, Dad."

Tikki and Plagg took that as their cue to make themselves seen.

"Woah, you got one too?" Emma yelled. She held her hand up for a high-five, but Hugo just shook his head. Turning back towards his parents, Hugo asked, "Why didn't you guys tell us you were Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"Wait, really?' Emma interrupted. "I thought Tikki had just been pretending to be your pin cushion around you, too! Mom! You just gained some serious cool points!" She was practically bouncing up and down in her seat with excitement at the news.

"Hey, what about me?" Adrien pouted. "I'm Chat Noir! Well, at least until today I was…"

Marinette patted her husband's shoulder.

Plagg rolled his eyes, "Adrien you can't get all sappy on me now."

Adrien nodded, "I know, I know."

"So are you guys going to tell us what's going on?" Emma asked.

"Evil is back in Paris," Marinette sighed. "And you guys are going to be the ones to stop it."


	5. Say Yes

**A/N: A shorter chapter, but this was one of my favorites to write.**

Emma rolled her eyes, "You guys are ridiculously dramatic. I want to hear about you guys! Tell us some of your adventures, or at least tell us how to use the powers. Why did you wait until now to tell us?"

It was obvious she was much more excited at the idea than Hugo was, which Marinette and Adrien had expected; she was just a more excitable person.

"Well we never told you when you were younger because we couldn't take the chance that you would go running around Paris telling everyone that your parents are Ladybug and Chat Noir," Adrien chuckled. "It would have been the story of the century with the news and paparazzi, and I've had enough of them already to last a lifetime."

Emma and Hugo nodded. They knew that despite their father's job as a professor, he hated being the center of attention. They had stumbled across his old modelling pictures once before and had a good laugh over how ridiculous they had been. Their mother told them that girls all across Paris had those pictures posted in their bedrooms, which had been funny, but got even funnier when their dad told them that their mom had been one of them. But now knowing he was Chat Noir as well? That was a lot of unwanted attention for one person to deal with.

"And we are passing the duty onto you because, according to your father, I'm a fragile senior citizen now." Marinette continued, "I still feel as young as ever, but I'm too old to take down Hawkmoth again."

"Don't worry, Bugaboo, I'm sure you could still beat me up," Adrien laughed.

"Oh my gosh," Emma cringed. "That's where all the weird nicknames came from! You guys are so gross."

"Yes," Marinette chuckled. "It's also where your father's love of cat puns came from. Anyways, there is one more thing you need before you can become Ladybug and Chat Noir."

They both placed small, hexagonal black boxes on the table and slid them towards the children. At this point, all of them had completely forgotten that dinner was on the table as well.

Emma was eager to reach forward and take the box, but Hugo was more hesitant.

"Um, Dad?" he started. "This is great and all, and I'm really honored that you all think I'm fit to be a superhero, but I really think you need to reconsider…"

"We can't, Hugo." Adrien said, trying to hide his disappointment. "This is a hereditary role, son, which means that you and Emma are the only ones who can fill it."

Hugo sighed and shrunk back into his chair. He was afraid that was the case, but it didn't mean he had to accept, right? Surely Emma could handle the job on her own. He looked over and could see the excitement clearly written on her face; _she_ wanted this, he didn't.

But would he really put her through all that just because he didn't want to do it? On her own? He had read enough books and comics to know that while heroes usually won in the end, it was not without a significant amount of pain and loss.

They were just teenagers, too. How could their parents be endorsing this behavior?

"When did you guys become superheroes?" he asked.

Marinette and Adrien shared a glance, silently figuring out who was going to explain.

Marinette said, "Well, Tikki and Plagg showed up on our thirteenth birthdays, and we became partners right around fifteen."

"Your mother literally fell for me," Adrien joked.

Hugo internally groaned, not only at the pun, but also because he'd been hoping that they hadn't accepted the roles until their late teens; there went his best argument.

Deciding to let Hugo and Emma discuss things between themselves, Adrien, Marinette and the kwamis went to the kitchen. Of course, they kept their ears pressed to the door to listen in on the conversation.

"Why don't you want to do it, Hugo?" Emma asked once they had gone. The confusion that was swimming in her eyes at his actions had almost completely erased the excitement that had previously been radiating off of her. She was clutching the little black box that their mother had passed her, but still hadn't opened it to see what was inside. Like she was waiting for him to accept first.

"I-I just don't think I'm cut out," Hugo said. "Not like you are or Mom and Dad were. Plus, I'm already so busy as it is…"

He knew he was playing his last cards to try to get out of the job. Emma did, too.

"Hugo, I know you are worried about what might happen, but look at Mom and Dad; they've still got all their limbs, no radioactive side-effects or whatever, and they even got a statue from the city. _We learn about our parents in school, Hugo._ I don't understand, don't you want that?"

"I don't want all the attention," Hugo argued. "I've never wanted that kind of attention. I just want to go to school and be _normal._ "

"That's what the mask is for!" She exclaimed. "You wear the mask, you get the job done, and then you go back to life in anonymity! You're just being selfish! Think of all the people in Paris that are going to suffer if we don't do this!"

She was yelling near the end of her speech, and Hugo had to admit he felt a little guilty.

"I'm not saying you don't have to accept!" he fired back. "You can make your own decisions, Emma!"

"I wouldn't want to do it alone!"

"Then we'll find someone else to be your partner! There's got to be a way around the heredity thing!"

"I don't _want_ anyone else to be my partner, Hugo!" She yelled, jumping out of her seat to glare at him. "You're my best friend, my _brother_. We do _everything_ together, whether we want to or not! This is something we _have_ to do, and we have to do it together! Ladybug and Chat Noir are partners, and who is more in sync with me than my own twin brother!"

"You know what happens to twins in these situations!" Hugo yelled back with tears in his eyes. "They go in together, and one of them always ends up seriously hurt or _dead!_ Do you think I want that to happen to you? Or to me? Being a twin fighting evil is always a tragedy, Emma, and I don't want either of our lives to be that way!"

Emma was taken aback at his words and fell back into her chair. "You're scared," she whispered.

"Of _course_ I'm scared!" he cried. "I don't want to be a tragedy, Emma. I don't want _you_ to be one, either."

"You're scared," she repeated. "That's the reason you don't want to be Chat Noir!" It was an epiphany for her, but it didn't mean she was about to just drop the argument. "We all have to face our fears, Hugo. That's just how life is. We can't just sit back and let the city suffer because we're afraid of what might happen to us; that's just what _duty_ is."

"But why does it have to be _our_ duty? Why should we be the ones to risk our lives?"

"Do you not think I'm scared about that, too? But it's not about me, just like it's not about you. It's a responsibility to the citizens of Paris who don't deserve to be terrorized by a madman trying to manipulate them for his own personal gain!" She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes, "I'm _terrified_ , Hugo. What if I'm not cut out for it? What if I mess up? But it's not going to stop me from trying."

Hugo had to admit he hadn't considered what she had been feeling about the situation. Usually he was good at reading people's emotions, but he had been so distracted by his own hesitations that he hadn't realized she was just as nervous as he was.

She was right; it was their job to protect the city. If they didn't, who would? Their parents? Some other pair of twins that don't have half the resources available to them? He couldn't be selfish like that, even if he wanted to.

Maybe if was there too, he could stop anything bad from happening to either of them. They did have an advantage of already working together well, and maybe that could be enough.

Like she had been reading his thoughts, she finished, "We won't be a tragedy if we work together and have each other's backs."

There was a stretch of awkward silence as Hugo mentally weighed the pros and cons.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll do it."

Marinette and Adrien re-entered the room so quickly after he agreed that Hugo knew they must've been listening. If that hadn't given them away, the tears in their mother's eyes as she ran up to embrace them was a dead giveaway.

"I am so proud of you both," she cried. "How did I get so lucky to have such amazing children? You two are going to be _amazing_ heroes, and I want you to know that your father and I will be behind you the entire time. Don't be afraid to ask for anything, and we will do everything we can to help you."

Emma giggled and hugged her mom back, "Of course, Mom."

Marinette released them and went to stand by Adrien. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead as she wiped her eyes with his shirt. The kwamis joined them a moment later.

"Why don't you open the boxes now?" Tikki asked. Emma and Hugo nodded in response, grabbing the boxes that had been discarded on the table with the forgotten dinner.

They glanced at each other as they picked up the boxes. Opening them at the same time, they shared confused looks after seeing what was inside.

"Earrings?" Emma asked. "Did you get earrings too, Hugo?"

Hugo rolled his eyes, "No, I got a ring."

"What are these for?" Emma asked their parents.

"Put them on," was the only response they got. Shrugging, Emma took out the simple pearl earrings she had been wearing and replaced them with the black studs she found in the box.

Hugo slid the ring onto his right hand, shedding the reluctance he held only minutes prior. It was heavier than he would have chosen for himself, but it was a nice ring and he certainly didn't hate it.

"Now what?" Emma asked. Tikki and Plagg flew in front of their respected new charges.

"Now, all you have to say is "transforme-moi" and we will do the rest," Plagg said.

"On three?" Hugo said.

Emma nodded, "One."

"Two."

"Three!"

" _Transforme-moi_ _!_ " they chorused.

 **A/N: I know I've updated a lot recently, but don't be surprised if I disappear for a week or two after this chapter. Not only do I have evaluations for my French class for the next two weeks, but I also still have a few more quirks to work out with how this is going to continue. I hope you understand, and please keep reviewing :)**


	6. Première

**A/N: I'm so sorry, I've been meaning to post this for a week but I just kept forgetting because I've been so busy with class internships, etc. Time to get this show on the road. I hope you like this chapter, and I'll try to get the next one up in a few days.**

At their words, two bright flashes of light enveloped the room, making Marinette and Adrien shield their eyes.

Emma felt the magic overtake her as she watched her clothes be replaced with red and black spots. Once the mask was covering her face, she could feel the difference that the suit brought. She felt stronger, braver, and although she wasn't moving, faster.

Hugo had a similar experience. As the black leather replaced his pajamas, he felt the last hints of hesitation flow out of him. When the mask covered his face, the entire room shifted to a green tint. He didn't need to look in the mirror to know the mask had some sort of built-in night vision goggles.

Once the lights faded away, Marinette and Adrien looked proudly at the two superheroes in front of them.

"Does this suit really have a tail?" Hugo asked.

"And ears," Adrien smiled. Hugo looked over to see if Emma also had a costume with a literal interpretation.

While the red and black spots clearly screamed 'ladybug,' that was really the only thing. "Where are her antennae or wings?"

"The Ladybug suit is very simple," Marinette explained. "Both have their advantages, however. I'm not sure what purpose the tail serves, but the ears and cat eyes are very practical."

"Balance," Adrien stated. "The tail gives balance by acting as—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, Dad." Emma cut him off, "We don't need the physics lesson. Just tell us how this works."

Their parents chuckled. "Well, we think it's best for you to try it out for yourselves first, and then we'll give you tips later," Adrien smiled.

Marinette added, "Oh, and your grandmother will be giving you some more tips tomorrow, Hugo, on how to use the baton. Make sure that you go there after school."

"Alright, Mom."

"Now go," she pointed towards the balcony doors. "But don't stay out too late. You still have school tomorrow."

The twins nodded and walked to the balcony, throwing the doors open. Emma unhooked the yo-yo from her hip, and after giving it a few test movements, flung it out as far as it would go.

"Woah," she whispered. "So cool." She jumped up on the railing and pulled the string tight before flinging herself into the night. Recognizing that her tool would be the best to lead the way, Hugo unclipped the baton from his back and tried to keep up with her.

* * *

As the two new heroes bounded around the city testing their powers, a man stood in a dimly lit room on the other side of town. He was alone except for the hundreds of white butterflies that surrounded him.

Unlike his predecessor, this man had no family. No wife he was trying to find, and no son he was trying to protect from the heartbreak that was the real world. All this man had was a newly reformed butterfly miraculous, a kwami who only got the briefest hint of freedom before being captured again, and an unrelenting thirst for absolute power.

He had followed the stories of Ladybug and Chat Noir very closely back when the previous Hawkmoth had been active, and as soon as the news broke that the man behind the mask had been captured, he immediately began searching for the source of the power. After finding the smashed butterfly pin on the floor of the final battle, he spent the next twenty years painstakingly repairing it and tracking down the kwami that inhabited it.

He studied the tactics employed by the previous Hawkmoth, taking into account the backgrounds and ages of all the people that had been akumatized. He noticed what hadn't worked for him, such as using mildly inconvenienced people to try to steal the Ladybug and Chat Noir Miraculous, and formulated his own strategy based on the research.

He also noticed the pattern that showed the akuma were located around a central point—the local school. After sifting through a few years of class records and akumas, Hawkmoth quickly discovered something his predecessor hadn't: within a four-year time period, everyone in the school had been akumatized, except for two students in the same class. He thought he may have stumbled upon the true identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir, but once he realized that the two students were the son of the former Hawkmoth and his long-time girlfriend, he figured they had just been spared.

His leads all ran cold, however, once his kwami alerted him that there was a new Ladybug and Chat Noir currently making round throughout the city. This information did not dishearten him, rather excite him as the new inexperienced heroes would stand no chance against his vast knowledge of the Miraculous.

* * *

School the next day was a new experience, even if it didn't seem any different on the surface. None of the students saw Plagg in Hugo's backpack or Tikki in Emma's, but the students were buzzing with news that a new Ladybug and Chat Noir had been spotted.

The twins had only patrolled for about an hour and a half, but the people of Paris had developed a knack for spotting their heroes in the night. While the disguises were strong enough that no one had ever discovered Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities, even the most oblivious Parisian could spot the physical differences in the new heroes.

Emma flopped down on the stairs to wait for her friend after she and Hugo had walked to school that morning. Hugo was a short distance away, no doubt waiting for Isabelle, when Charles came running up the steps to meet Emma.

"Emma, you won't believe what I have!" He exclaimed before shoving his phone in her face. On it was a picture of her and Hugo—well, Ladybug and Chat Noir—obviously taken when they had stopped to catch their breaths.

"What's that, Charlie?" Emma replied, sounding less interested than she meant.

Charles pushed his curly brown hair off his forehead while he explained, "There's a new Ladybug and Chat Noir! I took this picture last night when I was going home after studying in the library."

"How do you know they're new? And why were you at the library so late?"

"They look younger, with different hair colors, and they're smaller than the other ones. Do you think they retired? My mom said Ladybug and Chat Noir first showed up when she was in collége, so they must be at least her age by now…" He trailed off at the end, looking like he was doing mental math. "Oh, and I was at the library so late because I may have accidentally fallen asleep while doing my physics homework."

"You're hopeless," Emma replied, laughing. "So who are these newbies?"

"No one knows, just like no one knew who the last two were. At first I thought maybe the previous Ladybug and Chat Noir would come forward and reveal themselves, but I don't think that'll happen."

"Why not?" Emma asked. If he had thought it was a possibility before, she wondered what made him change his mind.

"I think the newbies are their kids, or at least Chat Noir must be—he's got the same hair color as Ladybug, but the eye color of Chat Noir."

Emma was a little uncomfortable with how quickly Charles caught on, especially just after one patrol, but she wasn't about to mention it. Curse Hugo for looking so much like their parents. She should've changed the subject, but couldn't help continue, "What about the new Ladybug?"

"I don't think they're related," Charles shrugged, "She looks like she could be related to Chat Noir, the previous one that it, but I'm not convinced. There's plenty of blonde people in Paris…like you."

She made eye contact with him to make sure there wasn't any hint of accusation there. But, his hazel eyes showed no sign of anything other than his usual cheerfulness.

Emma let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. While people may have been a little suspicious of Chat Noir, Ladybug was in the clear, despite his last comment.

Charles wasn't finished yet though, stating, "The new Ladybug is pretty hot, though. You can't really tell from the picture, but in person she looked like a supermodel, and that suit doesn't hide _anything_ if you know what I mean."

"Charles!" she exclaimed. She tried to fight the embarrassed blush that threatened to take over her face at the idea of her best friend _checking her out._ "That's so gross, don't go ogling superheroes now!"

 _Especially when they're me!_ she thought. Charles just chuckled and put his phone back in his pocket.

"It's not gross, I was just making an observation," he responded, shrugging. "I think part of the job of Ladybug and Chat Noir is that they have to be conventionally attractive. It adds to the whole hero affect."

When he was met with Emma's confused expression, he continued. "When pretty people are superheroes or play them in movies, it just adds to their charm I guess. Like you aren't just being saved, but being saved by the _brave and beautiful Ladybug_. I bet within a week half the girls in Paris will have the new Chat Noir displayed all over their walls as well. It's just the superhero culture."

Emma crossed her arms, "I don't know, it seems pretty creepy to me. They're people too, and others are just going to objectify them?"

"I'm not saying I agree," Charles held his hand up defensively. "It was just another observation. I know I said Ladybug was attractive, but that doesn't mean I'm going to obsess over her."

"Good," Emma chirped. "The last thing I need is you talking about superheroes all the time. Remember when you got obsessed with that old anime my dad showed you a couple of years ago? I thought you were never going to shut up about it."

"Oh shut up, Em," Charles rolled his eyes. "Or do I need to remind you about a certain seven year-old's obsession with a certain American rock singer?"

Emma narrowed her eyes, "Touché, Charles Lefebvre."

"Always a pleasure, Emma Dupain-Cheng."

Hugo watched Emma and Charles out of the corner of his eye while he waited for Isabelle to show up. He texted her earlier and asked if she'd make it that day, and she reassured that she would be there ten minutes before the bell as usual.

He was playing a game on his phone when she walked up. " _Salut_ , Hugo!" she greeted with a wave. Hugo smiled back.

"Hey, Isabelle. What's up?"

"Oh just the usual," she waved nonchalantly. "I accidentally slept in yesterday. It was so late I decided to just skip altogether, but at least I'm well-rested now."

She laughed at the end of her explanation, and Hugo thought it was one of the best sounds he had ever heard. Then he wanted to slap himself for being so sappy. Whatever his mom liked to think, he was nowhere near as helpless as she was. Plus, it's not that he couldn't work up the nerve to ask Isabelle out, it was just that he didn't want to accidentally ruin their friendship if she said no or if something happened between them later.

"Hugo?" her voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I asked how your day was yesterday," she said before giggling again. "Maybe you need to take a day off to sleep, too."

"Oh, sorry," he chuckled nervously. "I'm just tired because I was up kind of late last night, that's all. Yesterday was okay, I guess, maybe a little stressful."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Oh, no. It's not that important," Hugo shook his head. "My parents just asked me to do something for them. No big deal."

 _Understatement of the century,_ he mentally sighed.

"Well that's good then!" Isabelle leaned to pull her phone out of her purse, "I know what'll cheer you up. Charles sent this to me last night." She passed Hugo her phone with a picture pulled up on it—the one from last night.

"What's this?" he feigned ignorance.

"There's a new Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Isabelle bounced excitedly. "This leaves so many questions now! What happened to the old ones? Who are these two? It's so exciting!"

"U-uh, I guess?" Hugo tried to play along, but it wasn't very convincing. Isabelle didn't seem phased.

"Let me guess, you're one of the guys that has been fawning over Ladybug all morning, and you're just trying to hide it from me?"

Hugo resisted the urge to throw up, "No." He painfully managed to croak out, "she's, uh, not my type?"

"Well what is your type then?" she smirked.

"You," he replied without thinking. He backtracked almost immediately, "I-I mean blue. Not blue. I, uh, I don't like blue eyes. Or blondes."

"Suit yourself," Isabelle laughed. " _I_ think she's really pretty, and don't even get me started on Chat Noir."

"Chat…Noir?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind being saved by him. You can tell he's fit, and that leather _definitely_ suits him."

Hugo couldn't hide his blush. The girl he was hopelessly crushing on had just said she found him attractive, even if she didn't know it was him. It was a confidence boost and embarrassing all at the same time.

Isabelle giggled at his expression, "I'm sorry, Hugo, was that too much?"

"No," Hugo replied a little too quickly. "Uh, why don't we get to class?"

Just as he pointed to the front door of the school, screams were heard not even a block away.

* * *

 **A/N: Did I just google "common french last names" and then randomly pick one for Charles? Yes. Have I picked one for Isabelle? Not yet. I thought about making either her or Charles related to Alya/Nino, but eventually decided against it.**


	7. Le Roi

**A/N: I hate writing akuma attacks so much. I can't help but feel like I make them sound really boring. Here's a fairly long chapter and 2 updates in a row to make up for my last disappearance (and because I'll probably disappear again).**

* * *

Hawkmoth figured the new Ladybug and Chat Noir would be around collège-age, similar to the previous incarnations. Not having any other lead, he decided to start off at the school that had been a lead in the past. If Ladybug and Chat Noir got to the scene in less than five minutes, he would continue to pursue that lead. If not, he would move on to the next school.

The akuma was a simple one. A man had become upset at work after being told that he had to do what a superior told him, no questions asked. He more than welcomed the power to become the person with the most authority in the land.

* * *

"What was that?" Isabelle asked once the screaming had subsided. The entire courtyard froze at the sound and everyone was looking at each other in panic.

Hugo met Emma's eye and she discreetly nodded her head in the direction of the sound. He understood what she meant, but it didn't mean he was happy about it. They didn't even know how to use their weapons yet!

Isabelle had put herself under his arm in her panic, like an involuntary need for him to protect her. Unfortunately for him, he needed to get away from her as soon as possible so he could _actually_ protect her.

Emma was having the same issue with Charles. He had placed his arm around her shoulders and tensed like he was prepared to run and take her with him. Emma just rolled her eyes; she could handle herself.

"Go inside," she told him as she took his arm off of her. Her tone was gentle, but Hugo caught the annoyance that was under the surface. "I'm going to go make sure that there's no one in the garden area before I come, too."

"That's not a good idea, Emma. Let's just go." Emma wasn't listening, however, and had already started running around the corner. Hugo tried a similar tactic, but Isabelle was already pulling him in the doors.

"We have to hide," she instructed. "If the superheroes are back, then the supervillain is too."

Hugo appreciated her sense of self-preservation, but that didn't really help him in this particular situation. "Hey, Isa? I really have to go to the restroom. I'll meet you in the classroom, okay?"

Isabelle didn't look convinced, but Hugo pretended to do a little dance and she eventually released him. He ran off as fast as he could, Plagg flying out of his pocket mid-run.

"Okay, kid. You ready?"

"I mean I was hoping I'd have more time to—"

"I meant do you have cheese ready for me after all this is over?"

Hugo rolled his eyes at the kwamis antics, "Yes, Plagg. _Transforme-moi!_ "

Ladybug was already on the nearest rooftop by time he got there. They knew they had to do something, but without any experience, they both wanted to have a plan before they jumped in.

"So what are we looking at?" he asked.

"He keeps yelling, 'I am _Le Roi!'_ and when he points that scepter thing at them, they do what he says."

"Mind control?"

"Yep."

"Where do you think the akuma is?"

"I wanted to say in the crown or in the scepter, but I think it had to be something that he had before he transformed."

Chat Noir looked closely at the akuma. Some of the items were obviously part of the costume: the scepter, the cape, the crown, and the vaguely butterfly-shaped mask covering his eyes. Under the cape was a fairly simple suit, with a shiny purple lapel pin.

"I think it's in that lapel pin," he guessed. "It's the same color as his mask."

Ladybug nodded, "Good eye. Now let's go get it."

The two leaped off the building and landed just behind _Le Roi_. The akuma noticed them almost immediately, and they barely managed to avoid being hit by one of the beams.

"Give me your Miraculous!" he shouted at them. Ladybug hesitated and glanced at Chat before turning back to the akuma.

"Why?" she asked. The villains trying to steal their jewelry was not something that the kwamis had briefed them on the night before.

 _Le Roi_ looked surprised at her question. Did he even know why he was attacking? Ladybug didn't think so. The glowing outline appeared on his face, and after a second he replied:

"I am _Le Roi_ and you will do what I say! Give me your Miraculous!"

"But what's your _motivation_?" Ladybug grumbled as he shot another mind control beam at her. She managed to avoid it, but she had no offensive strategy. Ladybug thought maybe if she kept arguing with him and avoiding his attacks, Chat Noir would be able to come up with something.

Chat Noir had no idea how to use his baton other than as a pole-vault, so fighting was going to be quite difficult. It looked like Ladybug was struggling with her yo-yo, too. She seemed to have the hang of using it to get around the city, but it looked like she lacked the throwing strength to do any damage with it offensively.

Chat noticed that the akuma could not control people unless he gave them a direct order. Using that knowledge to his benefit, he started to get people out of the way while Ladybug argued with the akuma. Those that had been hit were actually the easiest because without _Le Roi_ directing them, they were taking orders from anybody.

They managed to get all the people out of the area, even those that had been struck to do _Le Roi_ 's wishes. With everyone gone and the mind-controlled soldiers too far away to be affected, Ladybug focused on trying to come up with a way to get the tiny lapel pin off without being struck herself.

"This is getting nowhere. Whatever," Ladybug sighed. "Lucky Charm!"

A flash of light later, and there was an extendable grabbing toy in her hand. "Okay, I guess I get where this is going. We need to get the scepter away first, Chat!"

He had thought of a way to get the scepter out of the akuma's hand, but none of them seem possible with his short range weapon, especially when he didn't have a clue how to use it.

"Hey, Ladybug?" he yelled, not taking his eyes off the akuma.

"Yeah?"

"Can we switch weapons, just for a second?"

Ladybug gave him a confused look, but eventually shrugged and tossed her yo-yo to him. In return, he tossed the baton to her.

Now armed with Ladybug's yo-yo, Chat Noir weighed it in his hand while he tried to figure out how hard it needed to be thrown to accomplish what he wanted.

Ladybug had taken the baton and immediately fallen into what seemed like an _en garde_ position with the grabber in the hand behind her. She knew it wasn't the proper way to use the weapon, but it was better than nothing if the akuma tried to attack.

 _Le Roi_ looked confused at their sudden weapons switch, and the butterfly symbol glowed in front of his face in response. Whatever Hawkmoth said to him must have been urgent, however, as he immediately tried to attack Chat Noir.

Ladybug distracted him by yelling, " _Le Roi_? More like _le roi des cons_!" It seemed to prove just insulting enough to make his attention snap towards her, allowing Chat Noir enough time to wrap the yo-yo around the scepter and pull it away. It snapped as he smashed it into the ground.

Now that the immediate danger had been removed, the two heroes switched back weapons, because it was ultimately up to Ladybug to capture and purify the akuma.

"Okay, Chat Noir. Now we need to get the cape out of the way," Ladybug muttered to him. He nodded immediately, knowing exactly what to do, and ran towards _Le Roi_.

Now weaponless, the akuma wasn't sure what he was going to do. Chat Noir suddenly barreling towards him certainly didn't help.

"Cataclysm!" Chat yelled, and as soon as the dark energy enveloped his hand, he grabbed the cape.

It dissolved almost immediately, leaving the suit—and more importantly the pin—exposed. Ladybug wasted no time swooping in and grabbing it with the toy, crushing it between the claws.

She opened the yo-yo and caught the purple butterfly before it could get away. Once it was purified, she watched as the now-white creature flew away.

"Is that it?" she said to Chat.

"I think you have to do something with that," he pointed at the toy, "to put everything back to normal."

"Right, right." Emma picked it up and tossed it into the air with a cry of, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The bright light and magical ladybugs flew all around the city, putting the little damage that had been done back to normal. Once it was all over and they had seen the victim off, Ladybug had two spots left, while Chat had three.

"We better get going before someone notices," Ladybug said. She looked around and saw that they had been pushed back to right in front of the school; a very convenient place.

Just as they were about to split up to go change back, Charles ran up to them. The two just stood, surprised, as he bent over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"I'm Charles," he introduced quickly. "I know you guys have to go, but did you see my friend Emma? Blonde, kind of short, blue eyes, really stubborn? She ran off and I can't find her. You didn't see her get attacked, right?"

"We saw her run off to safety," Chat Noir replied quickly. "I would check that way." He pointed toward the school in the opposite direction than Emma had gone, but Charles seemed to buy it.

"Thanks!" he exclaimed before running off again.

"You better go," Chat said to Ladybug once he was out of earshot.

"Honestly, it's like he doesn't think I can handle myself," Ladybug rolled her eyes. She ran off behind a tree, and moments later Chat saw Emma running off towards Charles.

Chat figured he need to get out, too. Ducking behind a pillar after checking that the coast was clear, he dropped his transformation, handed Plagg a slice of cheese, and ran back inside.

* * *

Emma caught up with Charles quickly. While they were both athletic due to being on the fencing team, he didn't enjoy running nearly as much as she did. His slowness worked to her benefit.

"Charles!" she called when he came into view. "There you are; I was looking for you!"

Charles turned and gave her an exasperated look. His unruly hair was now covering his left eye, and there was a small bit of sweat glistening on his forehead, but it didn't look like he had been caught up in the attack. There was also grass stains on his knees, which meant he probably trip, but otherwise he looked fine, if not a bit annoyed.

"You were looking for me?" he asked. "You said you were going to meet me inside, and after a while I got worried you weren't going to show up, so I came looking for you. I thought you had been attacked by that _thing_."

"Sorry for scaring you," she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They had been friends for years, but recently he started acting like she was a glass figurine that needed to be constantly guarded. "When they started fighting right in front of the school, I figured it would be best not to go into sight. I can handle myself, you know."

"Even you can't go head to head with a powered maniac, Emma. You need to at least see that," he fired at her.

"And what, you could? What were you going to do if you got hurt in the attack trying to help me?" She shot back.

Charles rolled his eyes, "Whatever, Em. I'm just glad you're safe."

He pulled her into a hug before he quickly realized what he was doing and released her, blushing. Emma didn't seem to notice.

"Sorry for smothering you, that akuma just scared me a little. I'm not used to that whole 'villains in the middle of the city' thing, but I guess we better start getting used to it, huh? The last Hawkmoth was around for _years_ before they found out who he was."

"Yeah," Emma sighed. "Unless Ladybug and Chat Noir can find Hawkmoth and stop him quickly."

"Do you think he might be related to the last one?" Charles asked.

"What?" Emma asked. She hadn't even considered that, but it may be a good lead. If she and Hugo were related to the last Ladybug and Chat Noir, then maybe Hawkmoth worked the same. If only she knew who the last Hawkmoth had been.

"Well, I just met Chat Noir. If he's not the son of the last Ladybug and Chat Noir, then he has to be related to at least one of them. The resemblance was kind of uncanny, and not that many people have green eyes. Maybe this Hawkmoth guy is the same; the son of the last one."

"You met Chat Noir?" Emma asked. She wanted to steer away from the last topic of conversation until she could talk to either Hugo or Tikki first.

It seemed to work. Charles stood up straighter and replied, "Yes! And Ladybug, too! They seemed really cool."

"Oh yeah?" Emma giggled. "Did you manage to hold yourself together in front of 'the brave and beautiful' Ladybug?"

Charles rolled his eyes at her use of his words against him, but chuckled. "Of course. I was too busy trying to find you, anyways."

"Well sorry I ruined your chances in getting her number," Emma teased before thinking _you already have it, anyways_. While she didn't really like the idea of him crushing on Ladybug, she was having fun with this secret identity thing. It looked like Charles was beginning to regret telling her what he thought about Ladybug, but it didn't stop him from smiling along with her.

"Well there's always next time," he attempted to tease back. "Now, they gave us until lunch off because of the attack, so maybe a resident supervillain won't be so bad. I was going to your grandparents' bakery for some breakfast, do you want to come?"

"Of course!" Emma exclaimed. "Although I assume you just want me to come so you can take advantage of my family discount, huh?"

"You know me so well," he smiled. Tossing his arm around her shoulders again, he pulled her in the direction of the old bakery. She just laughed at his ridiculousness, but went along with it.

With the bakery just across from the school, it wasn't long before they were walking through the front door of the bakery. The bell dinged as they were greeted by the scent of fresh pastries and cakes, and it wasn't long before Sabine appeared from the kitchen doorway.

"Emma! Charles! How lovely to see you," Sabine greeted. She rounded the corner to hug her granddaughter and properly greet the young man that was often with her. "I knew Hugo was stopping by later to help me with something, but it's a surprise to see you! Why aren't you in class?"

"Nice to see you to, _mamie_ ," Emma smiled. "We just came for some breakfast."

"School is out until lunch because of the akuma attack that just happened," Charles answered. "Did you not hear it, Mrs. Cheng?"

"Oh call me Sabine, dear. I've told you for years," she smiled. "And no, I was in the back helping Tom. We had the mixers on."

"First attack in over fifteen years," Charles confirmed. "I even met the new Ladybug and Chat Noir!"

"New ones?" Sabine asked. Emma knew that her grandmother knew exactly what was going on, and had to admit she was a very good actress.

Not wanting to listen to the same conversation again, Emma interrupted, "Is _Papi_ busy? I want to go say hi."

"I don't think so," Sabine replied. "He's in the kitchen, just head on back."

Emma nodded, and as she walked away, she heard Sabine ask Charles what pastry he wanted, on the house of course.

She pushed through the back door into the kitchen to see her grandfather frosting some cupcakes. The bakery was still mildly successful and fully operational, despite her grandparents being in their late sixties, and was a popular place for the school kids to come for lunch and after school.

Emma and Hugo came to help out sometimes, as well.

"Hey, _Papi_ ," Emma greeted.

"Emma!" he exclaimed, putting down the frosting to come give her a hug. Emma always compared it to trying to hug a brick wall. "Are you okay? We heard the attack."

"I'm fine," she reassured. "Hugo is fine too, but you can ask him for more details when he comes over later. I just wanted to say hello and see if you needed any help this week before Charles and I head to the park."

"I'm fine, dear." He smiled, "Charles, eh? You two seem to spend an awful amount of time together these days."

" _Papi,_ _please_ ," she whined. "He's just my best friend. If you want to tease anyone, tease Hugo about Isabelle."

"Oh I plan on it," he laughed. "She came by yesterday, and I resisted dropping some hints to her for the poor boy."

Emma laughed along with him, giving him one last hug before heading back towards the door. "Well, I better get going before our free break ends. See you later!"

"Don't be a stranger, dear!" he called after her retreating form.

Back in the main area, Emma watched as Charles thanked her grandmother for the pastries before accepting her own. Sabine also slipped Emma a small bag of cookies with a wink, which she immediately put in her backpack for Tikki.

With a final wave, her and Charles made their way towards the park, where the citizens of Paris showed no signs that an attack had happened less than an hour ago.

 _Being Ladybug isn't so bad,_ she thought as they walked past the statue of her parents.

* * *

 **A/N: So unless they are together, one chapter will probably focus on Emma, then the next on Hugo and just back and forth like that. My goal here in this story is to parallel Marinette and Adrien's storyline, but subtly. In this chapter I tried to have Emma and Charles parallel Marichat (like how it's portrayed on the show), with the flirty, teasing friendship.**

 **Some French use notes: "** ** _le roi des cons"_** **roughly translates to something along the lines of "the king of pricks" and is, obviously, an insult.** ** _Mamie_** **and** ** _Papi_** **are just informal words for grandma and grandpa.**


	8. Papillon

**A/N: This is pretty dialogue-heavy, but it was the best way for this massive information dump. Sorry if you aren't into that. Also, I'm having nerve issues with my arms (which makes it very hard to type; sorry for any mistakes) so this might be the only update for a while, unless I can get to a doctor. Luckily, this is the longest chapter I've ever written so far, and hopefully it'll tide you guys over. :)**

* * *

In his lair across town, Hawkmoth was pleased. Sure, his first akuma had been easily defeated, but that was the point. The akuma had served its purpose in confirming that the new Ladybug and Chat Noir were most likely students at the same collège as their predecessors.

Now all he had to do was narrow down the possibilities and he would achieve ultimate power.

* * *

Hugo found Isabelle almost immediately, as she was sitting against the wall next to the bathroom he was _supposed_ to be in at the moment. He considered running back and trying to climb in the window so she wouldn't be suspicious, but that plan was shot down when she spotted him.

"Hugo!" she called, a mix of relief and annoyance in her voice. "Where did you go? You said you were going to meet me in the classroom, and I was two minutes away from barging into the boys' bathroom to look for you!"

Hugo knew he had to think fast, and remembering his encounter with Charles at Chat Noir replied, "I'm so sorry, I was on my way there, but then I ran into Charles. He said he couldn't find Emma anywhere, and I went with him to find her and make sure she was okay."

It was a perfect lie, and it definitely worked. Any trace of annoyance left her face and was replaced by worry, "Oh my gosh, she wasn't hurt, was she?"

Hugo shook his head, "No, no, no. Charles found her, and she's fine. Plus, everything that happened was fixed by Ladybug, anyways."

Isabelle relaxed. "Good. Wait, did you see Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

"Uh, yeah, but only from a distance. They seem cool."

She must've been satisfied with that reply, and she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the exit. It caught him completely off-guard, and he was waiting for the minute she noticed how sweaty his hand had gotten and dropped it.

"W-where are we going?"

"There's no class until after lunch because of the attack," she replied without turning around. "Is your mom home? I want to ask her about a dress I'm working on for a party my dad is dragging me to."

Hugo knew her father was some sort of government official or ambassador, as well as being a single parent, which meant Isabelle was often dragged around to official events. Most of the time she didn't seem to mind, but Hugo knew she hated having any attention focused on her.

Like any Parisian teen, Isabelle was one to personalize the clothes she purchased, and Marinette had become her preferred mentor. Even though his mother was a costume designer and not one to work on high fashion, Isabelle insisted she had the perfect eye for color and creativity.

As long as his mom didn't tease him, he didn't mind when Isabelle came over.

"I think she is working in the studio today, yeah. Do you want to go talk to her? We could hang out there until classes start again."

"Are you sure?" Isabelle asked. "It's just a simple question, really, and I don't want to bother her if she's working. And if you'd rather do something else I wouldn't mind; I don't want to intrude."

Hugo chuckled, "Don't worry, Is. My mother loves giving you advice, and I'm sure she won't mind a little company today."

This was her first day without Tikki, after all.

It only took a few minutes for the two of them to reach his house. Hugo figured it would be best to go through the shop, so he held the door for Isabelle as the bell sounded to alert that someone had entered.

"Just a minute!" a voice came from the back.

"It's just me, _Maman!_ " Hugo called back. There was a small crashing noise from the back, and within seconds Marinette was leaning in the doorframe.

"Hugo! Isabelle! What are you two doing here?"

"There was an akuma attack, so school was cancelled until lunch," Isabelle supplied.

"Oh?" Marinette said. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Mom. Everything is fine. Ladybug fixed everything and no one was hurt."

Marinette seemed mostly satisfied with that answer, but asked, "And Emma? Where is she?"

"Her and Charles went somewhere," Hugo replied. "I'm not exactly sure where, but she's fine, too."

"Good. Now what can I help you two with?"

Isabelle smiled and pulled a notebook out of her backpack. "Actually, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about a dress I got for a gala at the Louvre."

"Sounds very fancy," Marinette replied. "I'll see what I can help you with. Hugo, why don't you go upstairs and bring down some snacks?"

"Uh, sure." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, feeling that she was up to something, "I'll be right back."

Once he was out of sight, Marinette turned to Isabelle. Looking at the print out of the dress that the girl had brought, she began thinking of some ways that would make the dress more Isabelle.

"Tell me more about this event," she requested, getting up to find her colored pencils.

Isabelle sighed. "It's just some charity thing with my dad. I'm probably not even going to see him most of the night because he'll be too busy mingling with the other guests."

Marinette felt for the girl, recognizing the signs of sadness caused by an uninvolved parent. Isabelle clearly didn't enjoy these events, but constantly went to them to please her father. "So are you going to be all alone the whole night?"

"Probably," Isabelle mumbled. "So I was thinking about making my dress a little more sophisticated, but simple enough that it blends in with everyone. Between you and me, Mrs. DC, I don't really enjoy the attention of all the snotty rich people there; especially all the entitled trust fund babies that like to hit on me."

Marinette laughed, "Of course. Let's see what we can do." The two worked for a few moments, sketching different ideas on to the piece of paper and discussing alterations, but suddenly Marinette asked, "Are you allowed to bring someone else to the event?"

Isabelle thought about it. "I don't see why not; I think everyone gets a plus-one. I just don't know of anyone that would want to go with me, though."

Hugo chose that moment to come back into the room with a plate of cheese and crackers (probably at Plagg's request), just as Marinette had hoped. She watched as Isabelle's eyes flicked to Hugo and practically saw the gears turning in her head.

 _My work here is done_ , Marinette thought. She added a few more details to Isabelle's dress design when the girl wasn't looking, knowing that she'd thank her later.

Hugo noticed the smirk on his mom's face and the way Isabelle was looking at him like she was seeing him for the first time. He blushed at the thought of what his mother could have said to her.

"Did I miss something?" he managed to squeak out.

"No, dear." Marinette chuckled, "We were just figuring out the adjustments on Isabelle's dress." The front door bell rang at the end of her sentence, "Now if you would excuse me, I think the velvet I ordered is here. Isabelle, if you want to bring the dress by later I can do all the changes for you, free of charge."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" Isabelle cheered, not taking her eyes off of Hugo. Marinette left the two teens alone in the room, with Isabelle still appraising Hugo.

"Something wrong?" he asked. She seemed to snap out whatever she was doing.

"Oh, no. Sorry, I was just thinking." She glanced down at the dress again. "Hey, Hugo?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you…" she paused. Hugo's mind screamed _DO I WHAT?_ before she started again. "Do you want to come to this gala with me?"

Hugo's mind stopped working. Did she just ask him on a date? To a fancy gala that was probably very restrictive about who could attend?

"W-what?"

Isabelle looked away from him to wring her fingers instead. "Well, I'm going to be alone the whole night, and your mom suggested I bring someone. It would be nice to have someone there that I know, and I was wondering if you wanted to come. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Hugo felt bad for her; how many of these events had she spent sitting at a table trying to keep unwanted attention off of her? Even if it _wasn't_ a date, he would do this for her as her friend.

"Sure, I'll come. It'll be fun."

Isabelle jumped and ran up to hug him, "Oh, Hugo, thank you so much!"

Hugo was frozen for a moment, before he remembered his arms and wrapped them around her. She pulled away after a few moments. "You're the best, Hugo. I'll give you the rest of the details at school tomorrow!"

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a blur for Hugo after Isabelle's invitation. He barely remembered leaving his house to go back to school, completely forgot that he attended three classes, and only due to subconscious guiding was he able to make it to the bakery on time.

"Hello, Hugo!" Sabine greeted as soon as he stepped into the bakery. The sound of her voice helped to snap him out of his Isabelle-induced trance as he hugged her in greeting.

"Hi, _mamie._ So, what exactly are we doing today?"

Sabine smiled and led him to the main living area of the house. He looked around to see that all the furniture had been moved out of the way (and all the breakables hidden), leaving a large square area of space.

There was also a large platter of cheese sitting out, which, by time Hugo noticed, Plagg had halfway eaten.

"So…" Hugo started. "How is this going to work?"

"Well, I am going to show you some basic moves I learned when I was younger, nothing too complicated, and then your father is coming to tell you the rest. He should be here any minute."

Hugo nodded and sat his bag on the couch against the wall, "Where did you learn this stuff anyways, _mamie_?"

Sabine smiled, "I grew up in Shanghai before I came to Paris. Growing up, even if it is a relatively safe city, it was always a good idea to know a little self-defense."

"So do you know different kinds of martial arts?"

"Not really," she shrugged. "I was a shopkeeper for my parents, and I usually had a broom in my hand. I learned some bo staff techniques with the handle as my weapon of choice."

Hugo nodded, grateful that she remembered enough to volunteer to teach him. Especially since defending the citizens of Paris from monsters with superpowers was going to be a lot more difficult than defending a small shop from thieves.

"Did you ever have to use your broom-wielding skills?" he smiled.

Chuckling, Sabine replied, "Only once, but that's a story for another day."

Just then, the front door opened and in stepped Adrien, looking like he had just ran there from his university.

"Sorry I'm late," he huffed. "Class ran a bit late today."

"No worries, dear," Sabine smiled. "We were just about to get started."

* * *

Emma was excited that today was one of the rare days she didn't have any activities after school. The day had been an easy one, even with the akuma attack, but Emma was still looking forward to going home and taking a nice, long nap.

That plan, of course, was thrown right out the window when she walked in the front door. Her mother was standing there, looking excited, and smiling like she had just discovered the perfect new fabric.

"Uh, hey, Mom." Emma greeted, "What's up?"

"Are you ready to learn how to be Ladybug?"

Emma sighed. Actually, she was ready for a nap, but her mom looked so excited she knew she had to find the energy.

"Of course!" she replied. "What's first?"

To her relief, Marinette sat down on the couch and pointed to the chair across from her. Emma threw herself down in the chair, and watched as Tikki flew out of her backpack to hover by her mom's shoulder.

"Well," Marinette stated. "Why don't we start with the attack today? Tell me what you think you did right, and then what you feel needs work."

Emma thought about the battle, "Well, I think I did a pretty good job capturing and purifying the akuma."

Marinette nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"But, Hugo and I had to switch weapons at one point because I couldn't throw the yo-yo hard enough."

Marinette looked surprised at that, and glanced at Tikki to confirm that Emma wasn't joking. Emma just looked down at her hands and played with her fingers. Was her mom about to tell her that she couldn't be Ladybug anymore?

"That's easy enough to fix," Marinette smiled reassuringly. "The yo-yo is magic, and it will do whatever you want it to, for the most part, and go anywhere you need it to go."

"Well it sure didn't feel like it," Emma grumbled.

"The yo-yo is restricted by what you think," Marinette attempted to clarify. "So if you thought you wouldn't be able to throw it far enough, it's not going to go far enough."

"So it's linked to my thoughts?"

"In a way, yes. Also your subconscious; so even if you weren't thinking about it in the moment, the yo-yo still responded."

Emma nodded. "So how do I fix it?"

"Just trust yourself," Marinette smiled. "If you trust in yourself and your capabilities, then you will be a very successful Ladybug."

"That sounds easier said than done," Emma muttered.

"But you're already doing so good!" Marinette cheered. "Let me tell you about my first day of being Ladybug…"

* * *

Hugo was exhausted by time his training was finished, but luckily his father and grandmother said that one session would be enough. Now, he just had to practice some of the basic moves on his own (and on akumas), and consider what his father had told him about the magic behind the suit and what the duty requires.

Even Plagg was tired, having to transform Hugo in order to practice. Adrien had to go back to work for a faculty meeting, so Hugo was left to walk home in silence with his thoughts.

He couldn't help the nagging feeling that he wasn't meant to be Chat Noir, but told himself that it was just his insecurities talking. His dad had assured him that the role will grow on him, but if he ever felt too pressured that he would rather see him give the power up than be destroyed by it.

Hugo also wasn't looking forward to an aura of bad luck around him. But, he figured, it couldn't be too extreme, as today had been the day he was asked out by Isabelle. He smiled at the thought.

He was still smiling when he walked through the front door; it didn't go unnoticed by Emma, who was collapsed on the couch.

"What's got you so happy?" she asked.

Hugo tossed his bag on the counter and went to lay down on the couch across from her. "Isabelle asked me to go to the Louvre gala with her."

" _Vraiment?"_ Emma asked, sitting up. "Please tell me you didn't mess up and turn her down."

"Would I be smiling if that was the case? Have a little faith in me, Emma."

"Hugo!" she cheered. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," He rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately I don't think she thinks it's a _date_ date."

Emma slouched back onto the couch. "Well you better make a move before someone else does."

"Like who?"

"Like me," Emma retorted. "Maybe I'll make a move before you get the chance."

"Yeah, right," he rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I would," she smirked at him before throwing her head back. She stared at the ceiling, "Apparently everyone has a crush on Ladybug, even Charles. Who says Isabelle would be any different?"

Hugo repositioned himself to mimic a therapist, which worked perfect with how Emma was resting, "And how does that make you feel?"

"In general or just about Charles?"

"Both."

"I don't know," she sighed. "It's weird, but also kind of…flattering? As long as no one is creepy about it, I guess I don't mind."

"And Charles?"

"He can have his little celebrity crush, too. As long as he doesn't realize it's me."

She seemed a little defensive to Hugo, which made him wonder if there was something else there that she wasn't telling him.

"Do you like him?"

Emma laughed. "I don't think I've ever liked anyone. I wouldn't even know what that feels like."

"If he did like you," Hugo pressed. "What would you do?"

Emma stared straight at ceiling, her eyes lost focus as she was clearly putting serious thought into the question. "I don't know," she finally replied. "Even if I thought I did like him, I wouldn't want to jeopardize our friendship either way. I don't even think we even _could_ be like that. It'd be too weird; not at all like you and Isabelle."

"I see," Hugo nodded. "So I guess _papi_ should stop teasing you about it?"

"It'd be nice," she laughed. "What about you?"

"What about me?" he repeated, not sure what she was referring to.

"Chat Noir was the talk of the girls' locker room today. How does that make you feel?"

"Honestly? I don't really care. Chat Noir and Hugo Dupain-Cheng are two completely different people, anyways."

"You don't really believe that, do you? You're still you, with or without the mask."

"We'll see," he replied. "I just mean that they don't _know_ it's me behind the mask, so it's easy to separate myself from the attention."

"Ah," Emma nodded. "So even if Isabelle said something-?"

"She already did," he smiled. "She said I looked fit."

"So you aren't separating yourself from _her_ attention," Emma grinned. "I thought as much."

Hugo just shrugged, "Whatever, Em. I'm a complicated person."

"Sure you are, Hugo."

* * *

The two decided to relax for awhile after their conversation. Hugo was reading articles online about staff fighting and proper etiquette in high society, trying to make sense of it all, while it looked like Emma was asleep on the couch. That is until she sat up and asked, "Where's Dad? Did he train with you?"

Hugo looked up from his laptop screen, "For a bit yeah, but he had to go back to work. Something about a staff meeting?"

Emma nodded, "Good. I think Mom went back downstairs to work on a dress or something for someone before you got here. I just remembered I had something I needed to talk to you about."

"What?" he asked.

"Hold on, can we talk in your room?"

"Why?"

"I just want to run the idea by you before Mom and Dad hear. I don't want to take my chances either with them overhearing," she replied. "And we both know my room is a disaster, so yours would be better."

Hugo just nodded in reply and stood up, "Let's go, then."

"Tikki?" Emma called. "Plagg?"

Both kwamis came out of the kitchen, where they were most likely snacking. Plagg looked a bit reluctant, but still asked, "What is it kid?"

"Can we talk to you guys upstairs?"

Both kwamis nodded before the four made their way to Hugo's room. Emma threw herself down on his bed, really starting to wish she hadn't skipped that nap, and Hugo decided the desk chair might be better.

"So what's the matter, Emma?" Tikki asked.

"Well, Charles mentioned something to me today and I just wanted to bounce the thought off of you guys."

"Get to the point, kid." Plagg grumbled.

"Aren't you quite the impatient one," Emma retorted. "Anyways, other than the fact that he came incredibly close to figuring out Hugo's identity after just one day-"

"What?" Hugo gasped.

"Not important," Emma brushed off. "He said if Chat Noir is related to the last Chat Noir, could Hawkmoth be related to the last one?"

Plagg and Tikki shared a glance, which Emma caught.

"What?" she asked.

"The butterfly miraculous does not work the same way as the ladybug and black cat, meaning it is not tied to familial lines," Tikki replied carefully.

"But do you know that for sure? Who was the last Hawkmoth?"

"I don't think you guys want to know," Tikki sighed.

"Why not?" Emma asked. "Are you not allowed to tell us? Should we ask Mom and Dad? What if it could be a lead?"

"Don't ask your Dad!" Tikki burst out, before quickly covering her mouth.

"Why _not_?"

"Tikki," Plagg interrupted, sounding more serious than Hugo had seen so far. "We might as well just tell them. Adrien doesn't need to think about it again, and I don't think Marinette would say anything. They're just going to keep asking us."

"Fine," Tikki sighed. "Does the name Gabriel Agreste mean anything to you?"

Emma looked at Hugo, confused. When he shrugged in reply, she tried to think of where she had heard that name before. "I think the surname is familiar," she replied. "But I'm not sure why."

"I figured that might be the case," Tikki nodded. "I'm going to let Plagg explain this one; he's more knowledgeable on the subject." With that, she flew out of the room, either to go back downstairs or to Emma's room.

"Okay, Plagg." Hugo prompted once she was gone. "So who is that?"

Plagg narrowed his eyes, for once trying to carefully think of an answer. It was a delicate subject that he hadn't had to relive for a long time, and he knew because of the nature he'd have to use the correct words. Even now, he was still mad at the man, but he didn't want to worry the kids, especially since they had never heard about the man before. Bluntness would not be practical here.

"Do you remember that one time the brown-haired girl accidentally found Adrien's old modelling pictures?"

"Who, Isabelle?" Hugo asked. At the same time, Emma replied, "Yes." Hugo decided to let her continue, "We all had a good laugh about it, even Dad once we showed him. What does that have to do with anything?"

"That's where you recognize the name from, kid."

"Oh yeah!" Hugo exclaimed. He vaguely remembered a name at the bottom of the photos and a brand that had been on one of the sweaters. "I remember now! He was like a fashion designer, right? That was the brand in the advertisements we saw."

"Okay," Emma asked. "So what does Dad's old boss have to do with this?"

Plagg ignored her question and continued. "Your mother was obsessed with his designs, especially after she won a contest in school. However, once she started dating Adrien, and seeing how he was being treated by Gabriel, she stopped admiring him. In the end, working at his company for a little while is eventually what drove her away from high fashion all together."

"If he treated Dad so badly, why didn't he just quit?"

Plagg rolled his eyes; this is why he always preferred to just state things bluntly. "What is your last name?" he suddenly asked, once again ignoring her question.

"Dupain-Cheng," Hugo replied. "You know that."

"And your mother's?"

"The same, obviously."

"I meant her maiden name," Plagg corrected. "You know, the name she had before she got married? Your grandparents' last name?"

Emma and Hugo were both embarrassed to admit that they had never actually put any thought into their names.

"It's still Dupain-Cheng," Hugo mumbled. " _Mamie_ is Sabine Cheng and _papi_ is Tom Dupain."

"So what have we learned?" Plagg asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He really wanted them to make this connection for themselves.

"Dad has Mom's last name," Emma said. "We never even thought about it, but of course we knew that."

"Mom started her career long before Dad, though. It's common then for women to either keep their last names or hyphenate them. It makes sense; it'd be kind of hard to hyphenate an already hyphenated name."

"Okay," Plagg said. "Even if that was the case, you still aren't getting what I'm trying to say. I've given you enough time to think about it, and I'm getting bored. Let's be more direct: do you know who Adrien Agreste is?"

"No?" Emma replied immediately. "Should we?"

"Kid. Really. Help a kwami out here," he directed at Hugo. Everything that he had said to them was swimming around Hugo's head: design company, Agreste, poor treatment. Sure, their father was named Adrien, but it wasn't that uncommon of a name, right? Then he factored in the conversation about last names, and it all clicked. The information _wasn't_ all unrelated.

"Oh thank goodness," Plagg mumbled when he saw the realization on Hugo's face.

"Dad is Adrien Agreste," Hugo replied. "Or at least he was. That's why he couldn't quit his modeling job; he was working for his dad. He took Mom's last name when they got married."

"So Gabriel Agreste was a jerk? Is that why we never even heard about him? Honestly, I thought Dad might have been an orphan, but I was too scared to ask. We always seen Mom's parents, but he's never even mentioned his; I didn't want to offend him by asking."

"That's probably a good thing," Plagg nodded, remembering how sad Adrien had been in the past when they first met. Not on the outside, of course, but it was easy to catch. If the children had suddenly decided to ask about his parents, he might not have handled it very well. He knew he would have to explain it, all of it, to the children so that Adrien wouldn't have to. Plagg deserved a whole wheel of camembert for this.

"Adrien's mother disappeared," he explained. "No one knows where she went, even to this day, but there were some theories. She is the one who left the ring for him."

"So she was Chat Noir?" Emma asked, trying to follow.

"No," Plagg replied. "She held on to it until Adrien was old enough because of certain...circumstances. But, that's a story for another day; my point is, both your dad and his father were obviously very torn up about her disappearance. Some people handle things better than others, and Gabriel's way was locking Adrien up in the house without letting him go anywhere."

"That's awful," Emma remarked.

"Yeah," Plagg sighed. "He had always been homeschooled, but the seclusion became even more drastic after she left. If I hadn't shown up, the kid might still be there in that house."

"So what happened? I mean I'm glad to learn more about Dad, but what makes the backstory significant?" Hugo asked.

"Once I showed up, Adrien started becoming more independent. He convinced his father to let him go to school, the same one you go to now, where he met his friends and started to see what a normal teenager was like. He kept arguing with his father over his freedoms as the years went on, especially after finding out Marinette was Ladybug. Then, at 18, Gabriel kicked him out."

Hugo looked down at the ring on his finger. His father was the nicest person anyone had ever met; he didn't deserve that childhood.

"He was happy then, though," Plagg continued. "He moved in with Marinette and didn't have to model anymore., and Sabine and Tom practically adopted him. He was able to get his degree in a field he wanted and blah blah blah. I thought we were done dealing with Gabriel all together, until about three days after the nerd finally proposed to Marinette."

Emma realized she had sat up and was leaning on the edge of the bed, hanging on to every word and eagerly waiting to see where this story was going. Then it hit her; the whole reason for this conversation in the first place. "Oh no," she gasped. She _knew_ where this story was going, or at least she had a good guess.

"What?" Hugo asked, confused by her outburst.

"He was the last Hawkmoth, wasn't he? Gabriel Agreste?"

Plagg slumped. "Yes. There was a particularly nasty akuma one night, and it managed to capture both of them. I was worried that Hawkmoth might have won, because Adrien had been knocked out; we can sense what is going on while transformed. During that final battle, all of their identities were revealed, and Gabriel almost killed Marinette in the process. When Adrien ripped Gabriel's Miraculous off, he revealed that he had been trying to turn Adrien into the perfect akuma for _years,_ and that was why he treated him so poorly. Akumas feed of negative emotions like anger, sadness, and jealousy."

"But _why?"_ Emma asked. "How could someone do something like that to their own son?"

"Grief is a powerful motivator, kid. One can easily be blinded by it," Plagg sighed. "As is a lust for power. Combined, they can destroy a person."

"What power?" Hugo asked.

"If my and Tikki's miraculous are combined, it grants the wielder near absolute power. Very _very dangerous_ power, especially in the wrong hands. Gabriel was willing to do anything to bring Adele back, even if she didn't want to come back."

 _So that's where the middle name came from,_ Emma thought. "So what happened to him afterwards?"

"He was taken away; first to jail, then a psychiatric facility." Plagg explained, "Make no mistake, even if everything is fixed after a battle, Hawkmoth is still considered a serious criminal in the city. In the end, Marinette broke the Miraculous, but the kwami, Nooroo, got away. He is not intended to be evil, none of us are, so it was probably out of fear. Unfortunately, his escape made it possible for him to be corrupted again, and in her concern for your father Marinette left the Miraculous where she had broken it. That's how Hawkmoth, the new one, was able to return."

The twins nodded, trying to take in all the information.

"Well that crushes Charles' theory, then." Hugo said, "There is no way that Dad is Hawkmoth."

"You're right about that much, kid."

* * *

 **A/N: I could've split this chapter off in the middle, but I knew it would be the last one for a while so I didn't. I hope it didn't seem to skippy. Also, I noticed some inconsistencies here between this and the epilogue of Only Time (Travel) Will Tell. Mainly, in the epilogue, Isabelle was clueless about all the akuma stuff, but after writing this I don't think that would be possible (especially with what I had planned for the future). I might rewrite that epilogue, or just accept that it's not entirely accurate.**

 **Other things related to this story: According to what I've seen on Tumblr, Marinette is going to visit her grandmother in Shanghai in one of the specials, so I played with that here. Isabelle's dad works for the government because I watched** ** _The French Minister_** **(** ** _Quai d'Orsay_** **) while writing this, and we will find out her last name soon. There will probably be a time skip sometime soon, as I had them with their Miraculous for a year in OTTWT and I want to have this lead up to that.**

 **As always, I appreciate your reviews, and feel free to come talk to me on tumblr cataclys-me**


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